FULL SHOW | NBA Finals Series Goes to a Game 7 | Panthers go Back to Back in the Stanley Cup Fina…
the Saturday show 975 VKSL Sports Zone I’m Christian Esparza Alex Napoulos with me as always Man it was a fun week I don’t know about you but it was a fun week man I was just thinking about it Uh you know getting ready for the show I was like man we had the Stanley Cup finals We crown a champion Uh the NBA finals keep extending They are more dramatic than we thought they would be Next week is a big week We’ve got uh the NBA and the NHL draft not to mention game seven of the NBA Finals tomorrow So today’s going to be a really really fun show Uh really excited for 11:00 We’re going to have Matt Babcock on He’s an NBA draft analyst We’re going to do a little bit of a draft preview because again Wednesday night is one of the biggest nights for the Jazz in recent memory I mean this is the highest draft pick that they’ve had Alex in a very very long time That’s right And I know that there was a lot of disappointment that they didn’t get to top one or two pick but this whoever they bring in is going to be the best prospect that they’ve had in a while So very excited uh to to jump into that with Matt Absolutely man And like you mentioned it’s going to be a big night on Wednesday for the Utah Jazz There’s a lot of really really good talent available And so I’m excited to jump in with Matt and kind of break down what really is available at that number five pick for the Utah Jazz I know it’s not the number one I know it’s not the number two but I still think that there’s some exciting talent that you can probably get at that number five Also Ace Bailey we got to get into all that tea Absolutely Got to figure out what’s going on there I think this is one of the more fascinating story I mean every year somebody has to fall right and I’m gonna bring that up with Matt but it’s like I don’t know how much of this is legit or it’s just stuff being leaked by teams because it’s lying season So yeah we’ll we’ll get into that with Matt But before we start the show off always got to talk about uh you know our our weeks How was your week do you have a highlight good week We got Thursday off Um Oh yeah And so that’s that’s probably my highlight man I guess spent the day uh running a bunch of errands getting some car stuff fixed and just hanging out with family Um I also went to I also went out with family to go eat and watch game six Oh fun Um I was I I did it because I thought OKC was going to wrap up the the title there and and I mean I know we’ll jump into it here but um went out to go watch the game out at at Buffalo Wild Wings to because I thought okay see we’re going to you know hold up an NBA championship at the end of it But regardless good wings out of it good time with family and that’s probably the highlight of my week Do you get spicy or uh what’s what’s your strategy then oh man Honey barbecue Yeah I’m a chicken Honey barbecue and Asian zing I’m a chicken I don’t I don’t like uh I mean I like spicy I just don’t like spicy Yeah I got you Yeah One time I tried they did like a promo It was like their hottest rub plus their hottest sauce It was for like an MMA fight I’m good I uh I regretted it I used to I used to indulge in the mango habanero a lot Yeah Yeah Um tastes really good but it’s hot Very good But it is spicy And you know I like I said I like spicy but I’m I’m not I’m not the biggest fan Sean you got a highlight uh I went hiking Uh on Wednesday actually There you go That was my day off Where did you hike i went up to Wall Lake Nice You’re You’re a big hiker I like that I like it Yep Outdoors Yeah that’s awesome Uh and get out of the heat Dude it was so hot this week but I mean today and tomorrow it’s supposed to randomly like really really cool off but that’s uh that’s the nice part about where we live I mean it’s the great outdoors is right in our backyard right absolutely man I always love going out there and you know seeing the views and seeing I don’t know what it is about like just hiking up and then like looking out at the Salt Lake Valley Oh it’s beautiful It’s amazing I don’t know I don’t know why but it’s just so I love where we live So nice Uh for me yeah Thursday was fun I had a friend get married randomly on the Thursday I thought that was a bit weird but it was cool Shout out to them Um beautiful wedding again up in Logan It’s at a really really nice venue up there Really good-look place Um so yeah that was fun And then yesterday was my brother’s birthday so we went out to lunch And other than that it’s just been uh dialed in on all these sports trying to catch up get ready for the draft So let’s start off with uh with the NBA Alex I guess I want to start with this Um some of the controversy that we had here on the station Did you see the video or hear the segment of uh Hansen Scotty almost breaking up i did It got personal there for a second It did get personal man Uh if you haven’t seen it I’d go check it out It’s posted on YouTube by no hands as uh he’s posted it on his Twitter and it’s all over social media They got into a heated exchange and the I guess the basis of the argument started surrounding Tyrese Hallebertton because he had going into game six right so this this segment was before game six it was Wednesday and it was basically an argument of whether or not Tyrese Hallebertton should play right with his calf strain And Hans’s side of the argument was “Yes you play You’re a competitor You’re here at the finals at the biggest stage You go no matter what.” And Scotty’s side of the argument was “What if you end up hurting what if you tear your Achilles right and you mortgage your career’s future by going out and playing in a game six when you’re already down and the odds of you winning are not that high anyways Why would you risk that?” And it get it got pretty funny It is funny because Hans obviously was a professional athlete so he clearly has that mindset and then Scotty’s mindset was more of the the business perspective What would the team want for their future and I’m curious where you stand on that We don’t have to fight like Hans and Scotty did I hope we don’t But uh I think I think I’m on hand side with this man uh you don’t you don’t know if you’re ever going to get back to this up to to this spot if you’re the Indiana Pacers right it’s not guaranteed that you’ll you know you’ll have that opportunity to return and fight for an NBA championship and and play in another finals um in your career So while you’re here I feel like you have to make the most out of it And I mean obviously we saw how game six turned out and I feel like the Pacers made the most of it And I you know if if I’m Tyrese Hallebertton while I do run that risk of potentially you know popping an Achilles or something I don’t know when I’m going to be back I don’t know when I’m going to come back and return and and be able to to have a chance to to play in in an NBA finals And so I’m going to give it my all I’m I I I think I see the perspective of hands on this one Yeah And obviously the game has already happened but there’s still a game seven So I don’t want to talk about it you know using retrospect too much but at the end of the day I I agree with you I think you put it perfectly You never know when you’re going to be back here So go out and make the most of this opportunity because as we saw with I know Boston is a funny example because you know that ended because of an injury right yes But basically you never know what’s going to happen season to season Last year at this time we never thought that Indiana would be back in the conference finals we thought that was a fluky run Um every year you see teams kind of come up and and and make it out of nowhere and then you see teams disappoint You know Denver ever since they won the finals they have struggled to reach that high again even though they have the best player in the world So you can’t ever take the future for granted And if you are there right now you know maybe if you’re down 3-1 that’s a little bit of a different story but uh you have the chance to force a a game seven and that’s what they did And even if they lose tomorrow I don’t think that this was the wrong decision because you know again you just never know You never know Next year the Spurs are probably going to take a big step step forward We’re going to see what the what the Cavaliers do Uh the Orlando Magic just made a big trade Um there are so many more teams in the NBA and I know things are going to happen to make other teams fall right but it’s like it just seems like the NBA is getting more and more wide open and there’s a chance that Tyrese Hallebertton and the Pacers are never going to sniff the finals again So go out and try to capture it because you you never know when you’re going to be back 100% And so that’s why I don’t fault him for for the decision to go out and to go out and and kind of play through this injury and you know even if even if uh Tyrese Hallebertton is is feeling 80 60% ready to go he’s going to be out there because he doesn’t know right this is your opportunity This is your opportunity to seize it especially now going into that game seven Um whether he’s whether he’s fully healthy I think obviously impacts the game a lot But if he’s even out there just being Tyrese Haliburn and and facilitating the way that he does I think that the Pacers still have a chance in this series Yeah Uh clearly Um and I I think that’s the line that you draw right if he’s out there where he is hurting you like we saw honestly in game five when he was clearly impacted he didn’t make a shot the whole game He he made some free throws right so he had some points on the board but he didn’t make a single field goal all game So it was clear that that night in game five he was a detriment to the team If that’s the Tyrese Hallebertton you were going to get in game six and game seven then yeah bench him because he’s hurting your chances of winning I agree But clearly he felt comfortable enough to play The coaching staff the front office felt comfortable with him being out there And yeah look at what happened They win And that’s the nice thing I guess I would say about Tyrese Hallebertton right um because he’s the his usage rate isn’t high It’s not like he is the type of player that needs the ball in his hands to be effective as far as shooting right i mean he’s still the driving engine of the offense and the way he passes and the way that he gets everybody involved but it’s not like I’m thinking Donovan Mitchell or Luca Donic those dribble shoot type players that right you know we saw we literally saw Donovan Mitchell with an ankle injury and how much that hurt him in the playoffs We’ve seen it multiple times when when his ankles are acting up he can’t get to his his spots and he can’t create shots like he’s used to and that’s where it’s a real detriment Um but Tyresese Hallebertton I mean I I thought he responded great from the injury and then obviously it helps when you’ve got Pascal Seakum doing whatever he’s doing in the pregame huddles Oh man that I love all the jokes coming from that that uh that dunk man Oh the dunk was awesome Phenomenal Yeah And and that’s what you get You’ve got I mean that was Tyresese Hallebertton reading and reacting uh deflecting the pass over Jaylen Williams and then right Pascal Seakum just dunking all over uh JDub and Lou Dort both of them at the same time So I’m really excited for tomorrow no matter what happens I think I mean obviously when when the series started everybody was picking OKC in four or five Nobody thought we’d get a game six let alone a game seven And this is the first game seven that we’ve had since uh LeBron and the Warriors And thinking back I was watching a ton of highlights yesterday about uh you know that game seven and how much fun it was and the iconic LeBron chase down block and all that So I’m I’m very excited tomorrow because we don’t get game seven very often and most of the time when we do it’s very very exciting Game seven’s game seven is probably the two one of the two um is one of the one of the most exciting phrases in all of sports Yeah Well that’s a discussion that we’ve had Didn’t we talk about or maybe JJ and Alex talked about it i can’t remember Like would you rather be at a game seven or a golden goal situation Um and that’s a debate you know for another time But regardless I think that that’s why they do it that way right because the if you play one game anything can happen The theories the theory is if you play seven games the best team is going to win Um but if it gets to seven games that means these teams are somewhat evenly matched And even though the final scores of every game haven’t necessarily been close outside of game one um it’s not like there have been a ton of blowouts I mean I think one or two of these games was pretty bad but outside of that it hasn’t been bad basketball It’s been very very entertaining Absolutely It’s been super entertaining and I and you know these are two obviously coming into the series I think a lot of people had written off the Pacers and everyone was everyone thought that it was going to be an easy run through for the for OKC to kind of make it and and take this title but the Pacers have come to play man and honestly I feel like right now these are two evenly matched teams like these are two teams that are trading blows you know saying if you you know again punch me this hard I’m going to punch you back and so far we’ve seen that And you know I think I think facing elimination this is the first time the the Pacers have faced elimination the entire uh the entire playoffs by the way right and the way that they responded obviously was absolutely tremendous And to be able to go and to force that game seven and even give yourself that opportunity to extend the series and potentially give yourself a chance to go into OKC and you know play the upset and be the upset factor on their home court I think that sets up for an amazing game seven tomorrow and that’s what I’m looking forward to the most Yeah OKC obviously they went seven games against Denver Um and that was that was a really close area There were times where it was like man the Nuggets might actually do this right um and yeah obviously the Thunder ended up coming out of the West but ultimately at the end of the day I think the Pacers are going to go down as one of the probably one of the most memorable underdog stories of any NBA finals like ever because this is again like even when the playoffs started it was Austin and Cleveland and anybody outside of that would be a shocker even even though they were in the conference finals last year and I’m not going to sit here and act like I thought the Pacers were going to the finals this year right but I will say you know when the finals started and everybody was talking about a sweep or a gentleman’s sweep I did always think that was a little premature because the Pacers are here It’s not like they’re nobodyies It’s not like they have It’s not like they don’t deserve to be in the finals They fought through the East They had to win games to get here I think they very much deserved to be in this position but going up against the juggernaut of the Thunder one of the best regular season teams that we’ve seen uh especially since that Warriors team that was so great Yeah it looked like the odds were all a stack against Indiana and they’ve never been favored in this series even when they were up 2-1 Um the Thunder have always been heavy favorites So if tomorrow what time is the game afternoon I’m assuming if tomorrow afternoon or tomorrow night the Pacers are lifting the the Larry O’Brien trophy I think that’s probably going to be one of the biggest underdog wins Oh but yeah absolutely In any any sports championship that we’ve seen in recent memory Absolutely You’re 100% correct because again go back to you know two weeks ago when we found out this matchup was happening that this was going to be your finals The odds were not favorable of the Pacers at all Everybody like the the conversations I saw on national media the conversations I saw on social media you know even Vegas had the Thunder as big favorites Nobody nobody even gave the Pacers a shot And I think that’s one of the that’s one of the most underrated storylines in in all this Especially now that we are going to a game seven Especially now that again they have that opportunity to go into Paycom center in OKC and potentially pull off one of the biggest upsets that again the Pacers being the underdog and and giving themselves that opportunity to not only make this deep of a run but now have a chance to to go up 4-3 in their place I think that’s absolutely phenomenal But then it’s hard because on the other side I mean you’ve got stuff that matters for the Thunder too right because for them this is this is their chance to put themselves on the map This is the chance as we talked about last week for SGA to establish himself as the face of the NBA and losing his first career finals is going to be a big detriment to that especially if it’s the year where he wins MVP and they have the best record in the West and all these you know net rating records and whatever all the advanced analytics if you lose the finals that’s a pretty big blemish uh on on your career as far as you know when you get to the very top of the echelon of players in the NBA So it matters This matters for Jaylen Williams because there were times throughout the playoffs where Thunder fans were talking about they couldn’t wait for them to trade him because they didn’t think he was a good enough Robin to SGA’s Batman And I know he’s he’s played really well throughout these finals and he’s gotten better every single game but odds are if they lose tomorrow it’s because SGA doesn’t didn’t get enough help I mean that’s what we see win the Thunder or lose it’s either Cadet or Jaylen Williams really disappoints So yeah there’s a lot at stake for OKC here It’s not like oh it’s all sunshine and rainbows for them They have a a bright future set up I mean they’re going to have to make tough decisions whether they win or not But man if they if they lose the finals tomorrow if they lose to this underdog this Pacers team that they were supposed to be such heavy favorites they’re really going to have to consider what they want to do with Chad Holgrren or Jaylen Williams or both of them Not to mention Alex Caruso and Lou Dort and all these other role players that are going to get expensive here very soon Yes 100% For the Thunder And look I know I know it wasn’t any of like the players who said this It was mostly the media kind of hyping it up But you want to talk about a dynasty this is this is your chance to make that that to start that Exactly This is your chance to go out and begin to prove that you can be a dynasty That the Thunder can potentially be the next dynasty in the NBA But if they come up short tomorrow then I don’t want to hear no more dynasty talks I don’t want to hear no more because you haven’t won anything Right Right you have to go out and prove it on the court And you know I thought going into Thursday’s game six I thought that the Thunder I thought it was over man Especially with with Tyrese Hallebertton you know not 100% healthy Yeah I thought for sure that the Thunder were going to go in and take care of business and they were going to be holding up that Larry O’Brien trophy um in Indiana But the reality is they kind of sucked That was your chance to put them away That was your chance to put him away and and it just wasn’t good enough Um you know in a I think you can’t in a finals you can’t go out and have duds like that Yeah it’s inexcusable to go out and absolutely put up a dud whe you know even on a road especially in a closeout game you have a chance to put them away Now you’re risking yourself going back to your home stadium to your home arena and and kind of putting it on the line in front of your fans Mhm And what happens if you don’t come out on top right Then you look dumb Yeah Well and that’s the thing Everybody was like “Oh they lost on the road on purpose just so they could go win it at home.” Again you never know You never know what’s going to happen night in and night out And to your point yeah if you end up losing you look ridiculous Um and that’s kind of the trend that we see with some of these young teams right we saw it with Indiana even in the New York series They had a chance to put New York away in New York but they were up by so many games they kind of got complacent and they lost and the series got extended a game longer than it should have for whatever reason Um it’s you can boil it down to yeah Indiana just didn’t want to have the dog mentality to to put it away that night So maybe that’s what happened with OKC on Thursday Um maybe they got complacent They said “Yeah we weren’t ready for Tyrese Hallebertton to come out Yeah he shocked us He he caught us off guard but we’re going to wrap it up at home It’s a very dangerous game to play and if you play with fire you’re going to get burned eventually And even Indiana had a chance Uh they went up 2-1 and then the next game game four they came out and they kind of looked flat So that’s what happens I mean neither of these teams have been in this spot right and I know that some players have Pascal Seakkum has But there’s there’s something there when you talk about finals experience and playoff experience And that’s what it means is I agree is knowing what mentality to have in every situation So yeah it’s it’s at the very least it makes for an entertaining series right because we are getting a game seven Yes Out of a series that we thought was not going to last this long um at the end of the day And no matter what happens tomorrow night there’s going to be legacies established Whether that is the Thunder as one of the next potential dynasties and SGA as one of the potential faces of the league or the Pacers as one of the most fun underdog stories that we’ve seen in a very long time uh and one of the more loved teams by everybody I can’t think of anybody that that dislikes the Pacers team I have not seen I don’t think a lick of hate towards them I think I would agree And that’s been very fun Yes And refreshing to say the least I would I would I would agree I think social media is eating it up Uh I know you know when the when the matchup was when we first knew what the matchup was going to be I I think that a lot of people were kind of skeptical because of the small market there was a lot of you know talk whether or not that this finals would be able to draw interest because there’s you know you think of OKC you think of the Thunder I mean you think of the Pacers it’s just not big names It’s not needle movers No it’s not needle movers But honestly the series has been extremely entertaining Yeah it’s been so fun to watch It’s been fun basketball and the the the legac you like you said you got legacies on the line Can Shay and and OKC do it can the Pacers pull off one of the craziest underdog stories that I can remember watching now game seven I think if you’re OKC you got to you got to clean up whatever mess whatever turnover mess you had on on Thursday night because if you continue to turn over the ball that you the way that you did you’re going to lose at home Yes Uh 21 turnovers for the Thunder on Thursday compared to only 10 for Indiana And that was kind of the Thunder’s calling card right that’s been their that’s been what they do all series is the flip side They would normally turn you over without turning the ball over So yeah they turned the ball over They were poor shooting from three eight of 30 Uh Chad Homegreen was particularly uh disgusting Two of nine from the field zero from three zero of three from three He’s been very poor from uh the three-point line throughout this series Yeah And I think I think Chad’s hurt his stock a lot And we’ll see what happens tomorrow and we can have this conversation next week about what the Thunder should do because they’re as I said uh Cadet and JDub are both due for extensions this summer and they won’t kick in for a year right they both still have one more year left on their rookie deals but this team is going to get expensive They’re going to start pushing uh that second apron So they’re going to have to make some big decisions and uh Chad might be making those decisions for them but we’ll see Uh we got to take a break though Coming up next we are going to talk about the Stanley Cup finals that wrapped up Obviously the four Florida Panthers are your champions Really excited to talk about that next It’s the Saturday show 975 the KSL Sports Zone It’s the Saturday show Welcome back 975 the KSL Sports Zone Christian Sparza Alex Napoulos Thank you for making us a part of your Saturday morning Whatever you’ve got planned today You got big plans no probably not I think I’m just gonna hang out with family I don’t know what my family’s doing If they’re going to like some party or some park or something I’ll probably tag along and go with them But I don’t I don’t I just kind of This weekend’s just kind of a go with the flow type of weekend and we’ll see what we’ll see Uh we’ll see what happens There you go Yeah Uh that sounds fun Sometimes it’s nice to have a low-key weekend I like uh you know I like having a plan and I like planning things out so then I know what I’m doing and I can be prepared for what I’m doing Yeah But sometimes I’m just like look whatever happens happens and then you know sometimes you might end up in Windover Who knows who knows uh let’s talk NHL uh Stanley Cup finals Alex that was so much fun throughout the week I think this was a very fun series and it kind of opened my eyes to roster building strategies in the NHL right because on one side you’ve got the Edmonton Oilers with McDavid and Dryidle Two of let’s just benefit of the doubt two of the top five forwards in the entire world Yes Some people would even argue the two best forwards in the world And then outside of that the rest of their roster is kind of a mess Meanwhile Florida I kid you not this is probably one of the best hockey teams that we’ve seen in the last probably half or quarter century at least And I know that my hockey knowledge does not go back that far I don’t care I I am willing after watching this series there is no way that there has been a better hockey team than that in the last 25 years Am I wrong Sean is that there there’s some lots of people uh claim that online for sure but there’s the the LA Kings of 2012 I believe it was Uhhuh They dominated throughout the whole playoffs And that’s where it gets close to a game seven because right Toronto took this Florida team to game seven and it got it got real close there But I’m looking at this team it’s like I mean that the fun exercise for me and I I talked to one of my friends who’s a big hockey nerd It’s like okay who’s who’s Florida’s best player right like Sam Bennett won the K Smite Uh Sam Reinhardt I felt like was the most valuable player in the finals Marshon they don’t get there without making that trade and his contributions right and I think he finished with 20 points across the postseason Barov is one of the best centers in the league and I know that his uh his points totals weren’t up there throughout the playoffs and the finals but it’s like you know how important he is to that team Then you’ve got guys like Eblad doing his thing on defense and then the goalender Bobby Babski It’s like this has to be one of the deepest one of the best most well-rounded hockey teams that we’ve seen I would agree It’s crazy I would agree Uh I feel like when you when I was watching this Florida team Wait sorry time out And I totally for like that’s how crazy this team is Kachchuck I forgot about Kachchuck Yeah I knew you were going to say that I feel like when you’re watching this Florida team or at least for me and I I don’t know if you agree with the sentiment Christian but watching this Florida team like it’s impressive how consistent they stay when even when changing lines right you can go you can go look at Florida’s third line and I feel like it’s still extremely good There’s no drop off between lines There’s no there’s no right when when certain players are off the ice and and even when they’re ro when you know different a different group of players is in there it doesn’t feel like they drop off dramatically to where it’s where they’re where they’re not playing good hockey like every line that they switch out is very very good and I that’s what makes it such a complete team is the fact that they can go to their third line and say “Look you guys are still going to be in there and they’re still going to be scoring and they’re still going to be playing incredibly well hockey.” They had a Hall of Famer on their third line That’s what I’m saying And Marshall that’s what I’m saying And you’re right You don’t lose the mentality the intensity that you get with that top line And that’s kind of the you go into culture and and things like that That’s what Florida has established and you see it on the ice and you see it off the ice and all of these I’ve been loving all the videos that we’re seeing from the celebration that they’ve been on the last few days since since they won And that’s what makes it hard when it comes to because free agency is two weeks away and Sam Bennett Brad Marshand are both slated to be unrestricted free agents And it would be so cool if Utah could be in on either of those guys but it seems like they are loving Florida It seems like what has been established there they don’t want to break up right and so I feel like the odds of How could you want to break up right Exactly You just went back to back back to back Stanley Cup finals Straight appearances It’s crazy You There’s no reason I I feel like if you’re you know if you’re Bennett if you’re Marshand if you’re one of these guys who are running is is is you know coming up to their to the free agency and and running out of contract I don’t understand why you would want to leave No I mean obviously you know even if I’m even if I’m I’m you know working on an extension with the Florida Panthers to stay there and I have to take a little bit of a pay cut I’m taking it because again that’s three straight appearances And it feels like that’s what you get with hockey anyways Like you you you get guys that don’t care about the money total at the end of the day Like these guys want to win Yeah And they love the brotherhood They love the I mean another speaking to kind of the family feeling and the culture that we see I love the uh tradition of skating around the ice holding up the cup and everybody every player gets a turn doing that and I think that’s awesome and what Florida did I absolutely loved instead of the captain Barov doing it or a vet like Marshand or the heart and soul of the team Sam Bennett or Kachchuck They let the players that have never won the Stanley Cup before be the first ones to take it around the ice Love that That’s so out of the ordinary out of the norm But with this Florida team it’s like oh yeah that makes sense Like these guys are a family And it it clearly showed when uh when the rubber meets the road or when the uh the skate met the ice if you want to go that way I mean these guys it they were the best team I think uh and ultimately Edmonton just couldn’t keep up I I agree I think like kind of like you mentioned uh Conor McDavid Lean Dryidle two phenomenal players I think any team would be lucky to have McDavid and Dry Settle on their side Mhm But the goalending just wasn’t good for the Oilers Whether it was Skinner whether you know the goalending just wasn’t there for the Oilers And I think that’s probably what hurt them the most Yeah that was No doubt That was uh one of their issues last year and they just didn’t they didn’t fix it at all Yeah And that’s where you get to Yeah this this will be our segue That’s where you get some Conor McDavid being unhappy And uh that’s very frustrating to be the star the face of the franchise one of the faces of the NHL when you know everybody on your team knows and your front office knows that you have a glaring weakness that is going to keep you from hoisting that cup and you don’t go out and address it They had a year to figure it out What did Florida do at the trade deadline right they make their team better They go and get Marshon They didn’t need him They got Seth Jones They go get Seth Jones They didn’t need him But guess what they felt like “Okay this is our championship window If we want to win we need to be as good as we can possibly be.” So they go out and they make moves to get better Edmonton didn’t do that And now you get Conor McDavid one year left on his deal he is extension eligible this July 1st right so that kind of starts your countdown If he doesn’t feel like he can win in Edmonton he’s going to want to leave Yeah And at first I said this tongue and cheek I tweeted right after this uh game went final I said “Bill Armstrong needs to get McDavid out of Edmonton.” But then like you start seeing all these clips of McDavid kind of sounding unhappy and he he said that he’s going to take some time to talk with his agent and his family and he likes Edmonton and he he does feel like there’s unfinished business but with that being said yada yada yada and like the with that being said is so huge It makes me see light at the end of the tunnel And I know that some of these accounts I don’t remember who it was whether it was a bleacher report or something like that like they put out a graphic that said who should sign Conor McDavid if he becomes a free agent And the Utah Mammoth logo was on there Wow And just to to be in that position as a Utah sports team that’s something that we are not used to Imagine if prime Kevin Durant hit free agency right that year He went to the Warriors Imagine if the Utah Jazz were in conversation to get Kevin Durant that year That’s what you have with Conor McDavid right now So that’s just yeah for the Mammoth to be in that obviously we he has to hit free agency first and we’re still a year out from this being any sort of possibility But the Mammoth are going to have the money They’re going to have ways to get it done if they so choose And so then at that point it really comes down to if they want to and if McDavid wants to it could be a possibility Alex don’t get me excited Oh I’m gonna get you excited That’s still a year away Okay I’m going to get still has another year with Edmonton Don’t get me excited Conor McDavid here in Utah would be phenomenal Starting the first line Mitch Mner Conor McDavid Clayton Keller Second line uh Dylan Gunther Logan Culie and whoever I don’t know maybe Josh Don or something It doesn’t matter Whoever they whoever they pick up No that’d be incredible And look even I mean it’s kind of awesome and crazy that we are now you know the Utah is now in a position where they can think about things like this where they can think about making some big moves in the NHL when they can think about making some big waves in hockey now that this is a hockey market there is a hockey team here and I feel like there is an ownership There is a front office you know with that hockey team that I feel like they want success and they’re going to do what they can and everything that they and they’ll have that drive to build something special Yeah And if that includes Conor McDavid then I’m all game man I’m all game too I promise you that Um what I think is interesting is you’re not hearing So last year Bill Armstrong was very open about we’re not quite a playoff team yet but we plan to be very soon And I know those weren’t his his exact words I’m kind of paraphrasing but we saw moves right they traded for Sergeev They traded for Marino They made moves to set themselves up And this year throughout the off season we’re hearing that you know they may or may not be players in free agency We’re not sure what they’re going to do with the fourth pick whether they’re going to make the pick uh or trade down and and get some talent And I think that’s on purpose right i would agree But I’d be shocked if they don’t do something big right here in the next couple weeks I mean I know the draft is next Friday and then again free agency opens on July 1st right i would be absolutely shocked if they’re not players because again the moves you made last year the trades you made last year are setting yourself up for success this year So you have to keep building and compounding on that If you make those moves last year and don’t do anything big this year that doesn’t make sense Now is your time to go allin Whether you’re taking a swing on Mitch Mner or whether you are trading that number four pick for a veteran that can come in and help you win or maybe you miss out on Marner Uh you know there are going to be other potential names that you can bring in whether or not they’re stars I mean Marino was such an under the radar ad for the defense and I know that he was hurt most of the year but that’s a solid veteran that’s going to come in and help these young guys win So maybe that’s the route they go is just building out that uh second third and fourth line in free agency Who knows um but I think that I think that they’re going to make some pretty sizable moves in the next couple weeks And I will say I’m not I’m not an insider I’m not reporting anything All right I got to get that out of the way too I’m not It’s a gut feeling I Yeah it’s it’s a gut feeling Okay I don’t have any information And I don’t want anybody that hears this don’t get your hopes up to get their hopes up and then get mad at me if I don’t I basically don’t want to hear “Oh I’m hearing CS Bars of Sports on the radio say this.” Yes Uh I’m just speculating here guys If you have you know if nothing happens at CS Bars of Sports and tell me I’m wrong Go flame him That’s fine I can take it Go yell at him on the Twitter sphere Uh but no I I think you know the the the Mammoth are in a position where I feel like they are just maybe you know a player or two away from being a real from being a real playoff team They weren’t that far off last year And you know you go back and you look a couple seasons ago they’ve been increasing their point total year after year after year So the development is there You can clearly see it as the this as this roster gets more and more points as this as the years go on But I feel like if they can bring in that physical center that everybody’s talking about that physical guy up front that you know can be one of the top one of you know the top scorers that might put Utah over the top Yeah Uh again next week is the draft the week after free agency starts So we will see how this goes Uh Sean how is free agency in the NHL i know like other leagues NBA and NFL you typically see the bigger stars sign deals right away right Is that how the NHL is Everybody wants the big names man Yeah Well I’m excited and uh I think Utah fans should be excited because obviously it’s a big deal and to be in this position where yeah we were on the cusp of seeing playoff hockey here in Utah So close to that happening injuries not quite being ready yada yada yada whatever Feels like next year is the year we’re going to see that happen So tune in to the zone all week next week and the week after All right we got to take a break Coming up next we’re going to hit technical fouls and then uh coming up at 11 we’re going to hear from Matt Babcock He’s an NBA draft analyst Uh and we’re going to chat and preview the NBA draft with him So stay tuned It’s the Saturday Show 975 the KSL Sports Zone If you touch the mistake you’ll get hit with the technical You will feel my wrath It’s a technical foul Personal foul 69 offense He was giving them the business A technical foul It’s the Saturday show Welcome back 975 the KSL Sports Zone I’m Christian Esparza Alex Napoulos with me here It is time for technical fouls One of our favorite segments Every week we get to talk about some of the funnier things that happen in the world of sports We award people with technical fouls and say “Hey you’re kind of stupid You’re kind of dumb We are going to laugh at you today.” We are Yes We’re going to make fun of you Uh Alex why don’t you start us off uh did you hear about uh Shadore man who didn’t hear about We got to talk about Shadore That’s the first one we’re going to hit today Okay Shador Sanders not once but twice getting cited for speeding in Cleveland the one of the most you know looked at rookies I feel there’s a m there’s a magnifying glass on Sanders uh because of the name because of what happened in the draft You’re supposed to go first round didn’t go till the 144th Um and now obvious he’s over here speeding and driving 91 and 65 zones Yeah you can’t do that Can’t do it Well and my biggest thing was Oh and 101 Don’t forget Don’t forget 101 as well A lot of people have got speeding tickets before A lot of people I think I’ve had like five Oh my goodness I wouldn’t have admitted that on the air Uh look it’s not necessarily I mean we’ve seen what was it Jordan Addison with the Vikings I think he was going like 134 Um Henry Rugs obviously killed somebody in a crash So it’s like yes speeding is dangerous I think the thing that frustrates me more with this Shador Sanders story is that you’ve got to understand that you have the biggest microscope on you right now out of all of the rookies in this draft because of your name and your story and your family and all of this Everybody every reporter everybody who cares about the NFL is watching your every single move Yeah Not only do you fall in the draft you plummet And so now you’re this underdog who has to try and come in and make a career after being a fourth what was a fourth or fifth round pick Who cares but you are dumb enough to not have your entire life buttoned up Like I would think that after that happens that should have been a wakeup call after you know the draft is what I mean That should have been a wakeup call to Shor Sanders I’m going to button up my life I’m going to not have this loud noisy personal life outside off the field affecting whatever is going on I’m going to show up and work hard every single day I’m going to prove that I should have been in the first round I’m going to prove that I can be the franchise quarterback of the Cleveland Browns And you’ve got to know that people are watching her every move And this twice in one month shows me that he does not care I know from experience I will admit I have had a speeding ticket And you know what Alex for the next several months after I got that speeding ticket you know what I did not do speed speed So for Shador Sanders to get cited in what was it early i don’t know I don’t remember when the first one was but I think they were both in June right i think so So for him to get cited the first time early on in June or whether it was May whatever Right And to not care and then do it again he’s a bust So you have the speeding citation for 101 that happened this week You have the a citation for driving 91 and a 65 He was pulled over a third time for going 41 Uh or excuse me for going 60 in a in a in a 40 And so he’s been pulled over he’s been he’s been pulled over three times Got cited for two of those And according to record he failed to appear for his citation Now he’s a bust So I don’t care if he hasn’t played a down in the NFL This shows No I’m I’m being so serious I know you are I know you are This shows me all I need to know He’s going to be out of the league before he signs a second contract Uh according to records Chador failed to appear for an arraignment for those citations um this past Monday and now faces $269 in court fines which is less than pennies Yeah or a guy who has his kind of money And that’s but still that’s the kind of stuff that frustrates me when you see professional athletes who just they do not care about discipline They’ve never had to face real consequence in their life And that’s what’s hard when you get into children of you know Hall of Famers and superstars right like right this isn’t a guy that’s ever had to face struggle or challenge in his entire life right so he does not know what real consequences are Um and I’m not faulting Dion for that I’m not trying to say anything about his parenting or whatever I’m just saying that the fact of the matter is like when you grow up with a silver spoon in your mouth right your life is a lot different than yeah somebody else who has to kind of make things for themsel And I know that Shadore was a talented quarterback and I do not want to deny that Um I do think that he he slid in the draft I think talent-wise he should have been selected a lot higher but this is the type of stuff that makes you fall And you know I’m I’m done feeling bad for him I’m done I’m done with him I’m This This is so frustrating And I know again it’s just a speeding ticket whatever quote unquote Like I’m so over with this For this most recent one where he got booked for go or cited for going 101 you he has to pay a $250 fine or he can appear on court on July 3rd to fight the ticket Do you think he’s gonna fight the ticket no he he didn’t show up for his last one Oh yeah That’s funny Okay Uh let’s move on because we’ve got a guest in the next segment Don’t want to make him wait too long We’ll make this quick Cory Perry uh he is a member of the Edmonton Oilers I’m issuing a technical foul to him because he just lost his fifth Stanley Cup finals in the last six years He’s been on the losing end of five of the last six That’s rough Stanley Cup finals That’s rough That is really rough The only year where he didn’t make the finals and lose uh 23-24 he was with the Blackhawks I feel kind of bad for him I don’t I kind I kind of feel kind of bad for him I I from the outside perspective I I could see why you feel bad Um I mean even Sean said I don’t feel bad for him I think I think it sounds like he’s a very disliked player among the uh NHL circles Plus he he won one with Anaheim so it’s not like he’s lost every single one right Still I mean why do people not like him Sean uh his nickname is the worm I mean he’s he’s just an he just does all the nasty stuff that if he’s on your team you love it But is he a goon he a little bit He just does all the little things like after the whistles getting poking the goalies or so he fit right Actually he was one of the big instigators in that five-on-ive fight uh with Edmonton in Florida Yeah he I think he’s the one that slashed the guy in the face with his stick Yeah Uh I can’t remember who was down I think it was Bennett I mean can you blame the guy he was about to lose yet another Stanley Cup final man Yeah right He’s just losing his mind I would I would too I’d be cross-checking I’d be doing a bunch of I’d be playing dirty too man So uh whatever team Cory Perry joins next I don’t know how long his his contract is with Edmonton but whoever his next team is you can bet on them making the finals It’s a pretty good bet but do not bet on them winning the finals Whatever team Cory Perry’s on or bet the opposite team Yeah exactly There you go All right we got to take a break Coming up next we’re going to chat with Matt Babcock He is an NBA draft analyst I believe he is a former agent as well Uh we’re going to preview Wednesday’s draft It’s one of the biggest nights in Utah Jazz history So can’t wait to talk about that next It’s the Saturday show 975 the KSL Sports Zone Welcome back folks It’s the Saturday show 975 the KSL Sports Zone I’m Christian Esparza Alex Napoulos with me Very excited for our next guest Let’s get out to the zone phone He’s going to help us break down and preview Wednesday night’s NBA draft It’s Matt Babcock He is an NBA draft analyst You can read him at babcockhoops.com What’s up Matt how are you oh I’m doing great How you doing ah so excited for Wednesday It’s a big night here in Salt Lake City Uh I was talking about with my co-host off the air Kind of feels like for the Jazz especially one of the biggest nights in franchise history as far as needing to exit this rebuild Yeah No absolutely I mean the the fifth pick in this draft is a is a big one This this is a good draft at least uh towards the top So you’re absolutely right I think they have a great opportunity uh to add you know a potential uh you know game changer So looking at the draft uh on Wednesday night realistically I mean obviously you’re not going to see a Cooper Clooper flag fall to fifth but realistically what are the names that Jazz fans specifically should be looking at at that number five pick you know every year leading into the draft there there’s so many rumors and smoke screens being thrown Um and this year feels like that uh even more so than usual And so a lot of it is you know who who’s going to be there And I think you know as you mentioned Cooper Flags can go number one Uh everybody’s confident Dylan Harper will go number two After that it starts uh it starts to get a little dicey U you know I’m an NBA draft I’m supposed to be one that they project these picks I I’ve never been so uncertain about the lottery as I am uh this year So uh but to answer your question um I I’m expecting VJ Edgecomb to go to go number three Um and then the next group of guys will be somewhat somewhat order of Ace Bailey Trey Johnson Jeremiah Fears Come on Malawat from Duke his name keeps been thrown around So I I I would I would assume if they’re staying put at number five um it probably be with with that group also Conan Nupal from Duke Uh it likely will be from from from that group Ace Bailey has been a hot topic this week obviously with not working out with NBA teams reportedly cancing his workout with the Philadelphia 76ers Uh what’s going on there do you think he’s just getting bad information from an agent do you think he might be banged up and not wanting to show that or do you think he’s trying to to force his way to a specific team or situation you know I think it’s a little bit of of all of it And you know I think part of it is there were question marks with him on on the court you know the onc court evaluation I mean very talented player you know 68 tough shotmaker I mean does some things uh that only you know star players do Uh so just gives him an extremely high ceiling Uh but you know I think in his interviews kind of doing some background on him uh you know he’s a young kid and he he comes off pretty immature I I don’t think there’s anything um you know personality or background wise that that’s necessarily a red flag of hey we don’t want this guy Uh but he’s just a young a young guy that’s still developing um you know on the floor and personally And so I think that’s raising questions Uh his representation they’ve taken the approach that he’s not worked out or visited any teams And and the way I see that is you especially in a good draft where you’re drafting towards the top These are big investments for these organizations and you having the guys come in it’s really not about the workout as much as it is getting to spend time with them You let letting the medical staff evaluate them Uh and so I think they’re just kind of leaving some some more looming questions unanswered Uh and so it’s it’s just creating some uncertainty One of the names that’s really taken off here in the Salt Lake market is is Trey Johnson out of Texas What have you seen from from Trey Johnson and and why should Jazz fans be excited about that name yeah I’ve watched him uh a lot for a long time and follow him all through high school Uh he’s uh he’s a bucket getter I mean tough tough shot maker Uh you know can create his own shot off the dribble Uh but you know he’s a shooter and scorer and I think you know shooting comes comes at a premium especially in the modern NBA And so I mean I think he’s he’s prepared to step in right away and be somebody that could uh you provide a scoring punch Sounds like uh Jeremiah Fierce has been crushing his workouts the last couple of days Is that a name that you would expect to be in the mix for Utah as well or do you think that five may be a little rich especially with already having Kee George and Isaiah Collier uh being kind of on the smaller side there i I don’t think five is too high for him I I think that’s that’s right right in his range And I’m very impressed Similar to what I said about Trey Johnson I’ve watched Fears for years Um and you know keep in mind he was supposed to be a senior in high school this past season He reclassified up and he was just terrific at Oklahoma And I I think his game fits the NBA well too of being an onball creator really really good in pick and roll and the NBA’s just got much better spacing So I I think he’s I think he’s got a chance of being a very good player I think the internal question that they’re probably asking as you mentioned does he coexist with with their young guards very well and you know I think he and Isaiah Collier I’m not sure you can play those guys together much or at all Uh and so I think that’s the question Talent-wise though I wouldn’t be surprised that to see them you know at least consider him heavily Looking now I mean the Jazz have two first round picks They have obviously the number five and they also have the 21 the 21st pick Uh is there any guys that stand out in that range that maybe Jazz Ven should be keeping an eye out too to potentially see if they can find a diamond in the rough at number 21 you know I you know a lot of it’s going to depend on what they do at five Uh you know and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them be active on on the trade market as well I mean obviously you know Austin’s taken over but you know he’s learned from his dad and Dan Danny’s not scared to make some moves especially on draft night So you know I think it’s a combination see if they stay put at these picks and just got to see who’s there I mean I keep mentioning the uncertainty of the lottery Uh but I mean even out after the lottery that there’s there’s players with a lot of u wide ranges and again I I don’t have a great answer for you because I don’t know who’s going to be there I like that you mentioned the trades and that you bring that up because you know there are rumblings of potentially some movement What are you hearing from that and and what kind of moves should we be maybe anticipating come draft night you know that like I said there’s always a lot of trade chatter this time of year Uh this year feels like there’s a lot more than usual and speaking to uh executives and agents just just you know the word that keeps coming up is uncertainty You know agents and their clients are are you know pretty anxious There’s not as many uh back stops for for guys and it’s just uh you know guys with with very wide ranges I mean in years past I mean you know when we’re doing our mock drafts and whatnot this time of year we’re usually able to pinpoint uh quite a few picks Uh and we we’re hearing rumblings of guys being in the mix Uh but again I mean you know most picks that there’s four or five guys being attached to the pick and it’s just it’s honestly it’s a lot of chaos right now behind the scenes I want to hear your thoughts on VJ Edgecom He was a name that was maybe in conversation for the Jazz at five it felt like but now it feels like he might not be there by the time the the Jazz are on the board but you never know what can happen especially as you said a lot of uncertainty here So what does a guy like Edgecom bring and what do you think that he’ll excel at at the NBA level yeah my my my thought is he won’t be there at five but but if he is uh I mean he would be a great pick He’s got so much upside He’s a 6’5 elite athlete I mean maybe on like the Russell Westbrook uh level Uh you more of a two guard than than an on ball guard but is very capable of making a lot happen He’s very dynamic and he’s he’s a great kid I mean his approach to the game even though he’s a young guy he plays so hard seems like a good teammate I I think he’s got a chance of being a premier guy if everything clicks Also looking at also looking at the development of of a coniple Obviously we saw what he did at at Duke Um a lot of people have been impressed with him and his combine showing Uh what kind of what kind of abilities does a Khan Caniple bring you know he’s interesting I mean all these names we keep talking about have you know significant upside I think Khan is sort of the safe pick of this draft uh you know a 6566 shooter high IQ u just you know it’s very easy to envision him having a long career as a very good complimentary player and a guy that doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective and you know shoot on the move shoot off the catch and shoot You can plug a guy in like that just about anywhere And so I mean I do think I mean his name’s been brought up as high as three or four but I mean he could even you know go down to 10 And I mean he definitely fits that that mold of this year of a guy having a wide range Uh but I think he’s very well thought of across the board Just as I mentioned he’s just he’s a he’s a plug-and-play guy that you know even though he’s young uh I think everybody could could use a guy like that When you think of a team like the Jazz who don’t particularly have a franchise player uh do you think that maybe a Canipple would be a safe choice because you know you you know what you’re going to get in him essentially and then maybe next year you could say okay let’s go try and get a Camboozer and AJ Debonsa and you know that Khan Canipple would be a good fit next to them You know I I I I think that’s a reasonable approach I personally I mean looking at these guys that will likely be there I would probably swing for a more upside guy uh myself Uh but you know I I don’t think it it would be a bad pick Um you know but you know if Ace Bailey’s there Trey Johnson Jeremiah Fears I I think the upside is is a lot higher Looking at another guy who has kind of boosted himself uh through combine and and and through his workouts Uh one a guy with local ties Demon uh making his way up mock drafts What have you what have you seen from Demen and and how does his game translate to the NBA level yeah as you guys know I mean it was a very roller coaster year for him I mean he started off so hot and then he you know he slipped and really was struggling uh and then really you know gained momentum towards the end of the season and the pre-draft process it seemed to help him a lot I mean I was at the NBA draft combine I was at his pro day uh his name was buzzing and uh his pro day I mean there there were full staffs uh checking him out uh intently and um I think his range is very wide You know I’ve heard rumblings that his representation was saying you know he’s locked be in the top 10 I don’t know if I necessarily believe that Uh but I I I’ve heard Brooklyn’s interested Um you know so I my bet is he’s somewhere let’s say 8 to 20 something like that But he’s going to be a great player player I mean he’s got size one of the best passers I’ve ever seen and uh I I have hope he’s going to be able to address some of his issues with physical strength uh and you know consistency with his outside shooting Another name that we’ve seen kind of rising lately uh Kaman Malawatch and a lot of people have kind of talked about him potentially going to Utah which is interesting because they obviously have Walker Kesler on the roster So the thought there would be maybe potentially trading Kesler away Uh do you think that’s a strategy that an NBA team would do especially a team in the Jazz’s situation do you think that would be a smart move you know I I think it just depends on on the personal evaluation of both Malawatch and Kesler Uh you know I have heard this conversation come up You know similar what we were talking about with Jeremiah Fears and Isaiah Collier You know if a guy can’t coexist I mean is there enough minutes long term if both players develop like you think they will uh and that’s I mean that’s a I think sort of a fair question to to ask Um you know and that’s why guys that have versatility uh have have have a lot of value in the NBA right now It’s a very positionless um game and you know guys that that are versatile on both ends of the floor Uh it’s a little safer to or easier to to kind of you know paint a picture of what their pathway to success is going to look like And Malash is a big bodied center I mean he’s a defense he’s sort of an old school defensive anchor five He’s huge huge wingspan Uh however he is pretty mobile Can cover some space and he’s shown flashes He actually can shoot the ball and that’s one thing in his like his pro day this year I I heard something like he had like 18 threes in a row Uh so people are really excited about him and I think he uh I I’d be surprised if he got out of the top 10 OB looking at this draft you know if the Jazz if the Jazz’s pick doesn’t pan out there’s a lot of conversations and a lot of talk about next year’s draft being either just as good and maybe even better How do you evaluate uh next year’s 2026 class uh you know I’m excited about this year’s draft Next next year might be even better Uh I spent this last week at USA Basketball U19 team had a training camp and some of the guys were there including AJ Debansa and Co Pete that’s going to Arizona was there Um Mikuel Brown going to Louisville Very very excited about this group and and AJ every time I see him I I just get more and more excited I mean he checks so many boxes and you know he’s a young guy that still needs to develop but uh his upside might be as high as any prospect I’ve ever seen Outside of the draft and more uh on the NBA as a whole what are you hearing on the Kevin Durant d trade front i know that was a move that some people were kind of expecting to be made possibly within the last week There’s motivation for Phoenix to get it done before the draft Do you think that’s something that we’re going to see here in the next couple of days i think so You know I mean I’m hearing everything that’s being uh you know published out there Uh it sounds like there is a ton of of trade talk I do believe they will move him I mean I think they sort of have to at this point Uh it sounds like their asking price uh has been pretty high I mean for a guy that’s uh essentially going to be a short-term rental I mean just with his age and how his contract set up Uh but I do think something something will happen and I’m hoping it happens sooner than later so we can start figuring out what’s going to happen in this draft And I try and get my mock draft somewhat accurate Yeah No I think everyone’s just kind of waiting for that shoe to fall Whether it’s KD or whether it’s maybe even Giannis I know that there’s a lot of talk about Giannis’s it kind of the the the trade cooling off for for Giannis onto Takumba but is that still something that’s at play that we can might be able to see before this draft you know all indications like from my perspective is that that Giannis will be there at least for next season Uh but you know I think you know things in the NBA can change quickly and um you know my my my dad’s been with Milwaukee for 28 years So uh on a personal note I’m I’m I’m hoping he’ll stay with uh with the Bucks All right Well Matt uh we really appreciate you taking some time to join us today especially on a Saturday I know that can be tough Uh with this being a real busy season for you so thanks again for joining us and uh we’ll be sure to uh keep an eye out for your latest mock draft All right thanks so much Thanks Matt Thanks Matt There you go That is Matt Babcock uh NBA draft analyst for Bagcock Hoops joining us here on the KSL Sports Zone Really interesting insight there I think the Ace Bailey situation something that fascinates me We haven’t really seen anything like that where a player is flat out refusing to work for teams and cancelling workouts Um so that’s a bit of a wild card there but regardless I think the Jazz are going to have a crack at getting a really good player on Wednesday night I think you know I think if teams aren’t deterred by Ace Bailey and everything that’s come out about Ace Bailey this past week if we don’t see movement at the top right if the Spurs keep their pick if the 76ers keep their pick I don’t see why Ace Bailey doesn’t go top I don’t see why Ace Bailey doesn’t go third Talent-wise yes Yeah um with all the stuff off the court it sounds like you don’t sounds like his agent is tough to deal with and I think that’s hard and that’s something that teams probably try and have to balance um you know versus you’re drafting a kid right so how much of their personality you know if he has personality issues how much of that can be changed by the time he turns into a 25year-old versus right now as an 18-year-old so I think that plays a big part and obviously if you don’t get a chance to talk to him you might not know So that it’s a big risk and I could understand why a team you know the Jazz for an example We talk about how big of a night Wednesday is going to be I would totally understand why they wouldn’t want to mortgage their future by taking a guy who you have no idea is going to pan out no matter how talented he is on the floor I think kind of what you know to what Matt said if a VJ Edgecomb or an Ace Bailey is available at five is that I mean especially in the case of Ace Bailey is that a gamble that the Jazz decide to take yeah And I’m interested to see if that I think if if if Edgecomb is available at five I think the the it’s an obvious answer you take Edgecomb But if Bailey ends up falling to fifth and the Jazz you know have that opportunity to pick him I’m curious to see if the Jazz decide if they pull the trigger If if they pull the trigger and decide to take that gamble I’ve been thinking well first off I will say and this is kind of a bad trait that I have is I can be talked into anything You like I’m such a hopeful person when it comes to sports like I have read so many good things about a lot of the prospects and yeah I have you know preferences or you could say players that I think would fit the Jazz better I guess is the better way to put it but man I’ve really been talked into Coniple and I know that the the upside conversation is something that can be had and do you really want to spend a a top five pick on a guy that’s likely not going to be the best player on your team and and things like that but when you look at what Khan Canipple does well and what will Hardy wants as far as play hard and pass And it’s like that versus Ace Bailey for example Ace Bailey does not pass And yes he plays hard and I don’t want to discredit that But not only is Coniple one of the best or the best shooter in this class he is a very very high IQ passer on the levels of I mean we talked about how how crucial Tyrese Hallebertton is for the Pacers right and Caniple is not going to be your primary ball handler He’s not going to be the point guard running the team but he’s going to be involved in a lot of these actions and a lot of these movements and knowing when to pass the ball when to shoot how to read an NBA defense And I think that gets overlooked because of physical talent and maybe he’s not the best athlete as you know like a VJ Edgecom or whatever Um I don’t want the ceiling argument to uh take away from his his true abilities that you know are going to translate I think you know I I I understand not want you know wanting to speed up the rebuild and I want understand wanting to get out of this a little bit sooner and start winning some games a little bit sooner but I wouldn’t mind taking a player with an an incredibly high ceiling that has the potential to be the star again this draft especially knowing what’s coming in 2026 Yeah Well and the way I look at it too is you took those big swings the last two drafts with Taylor Hendricks and Cody Williams Yeah If you whiff on this pick let’s say you take Ace Bailey and he completely busts you’re in big trouble Yes So if you’re the Jazz you almost want to take a safe pick here And it’s not like the safe pick is a bad thing It’s not like you’re getting a bum I mean Khan Canipple still has really high upside He could still make all-star games Um he’s just never going to be a probably top 10 player in the NBA right uh he’ll probably be borderline top 25 top 30 if he hits his peak But that’s not bad You still need that to win games especially where you’re the Jazz and you don’t have anything close to that right now So if you have a guy with the higher floor and you’re just trying to build a team go get that Especially if you have a concrete plan for next year If you’re still planning on being bad if you want to hold on to your pick and not send it to Oklahoma City so you know you’re going to be picking eight or higher go get the guy that you know can fit next to anybody else because you need a team to win You you need guys who play specific roles Yeah Not 10 young guys who all think they’re going to be the best player on the team Like you need guys who have identified roles and I think Coniple fits that really well Um obviously shooting is a big skill in the NBA Passing is a big skill in NBA So there are just I think that Canipple fits what the Jazz want and what Hardy wants in more ways than one And you could say this is me pounding the table for him Um obviously we’re going to see what happens Again I think that being at pick five means that you’re going to get a good prospect regardless So with that being said if the Jazz don’t get Canipple whether it is Ace Bailey or a Trey Johnson or Jeremiah Fears I do think whatever prospect comes in is going to have a very clear path to success I would agree I would agree And you know if everything goes the way that I think people think it’s going to go and nothing crazy happens in the top four right cooper Flag Dylan Harper Um and this this is where it gets murky right is it Ace Bailey is it VJ Edgecomb you know who goes there who goes what but I think at five I I think for me personally the best bet would be either Con or Trey right yeah I agree with you But again Trey Johnson this draft in particular it’s like you have no idea Yeah that’s but when you look at what the Jazz lack right they don’t I mean I know Sensah is a good shooter but outside of that like they do not have enough shooting on the team And so yeah that’s where you look at Trey Johnson and that’s where you look at Coniple That’s just what makes most sense to me So makes sense to me or us I guess Yeah that’s what we’re saying Us So we’ll see what happens man Wednesday is going to be Wednesday’s going to be I think for a lot of jazz fans it’ll be a little bit a little bit nerve-wracking right because you know we were talking about this in in the break but it’s not I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that this is a monumental draft for the Utah Jazz And if they don’t if if they if they don’t hit on this pick that might just get you stuck in in a rebuilding situation for another three or so years man Yeah exactly And that’s what we were kind of mentioning off the air You know I don’t want it to sound like too much of an exaggeration but Wednesday night if you whiff on that fifth pick if you whiff on 21 if you don’t come out with a good player from from this year’s draft that’s going to pause this rebuild It’s going to to stagnate right yes And you don’t know how much longer it’s going to take You need to come out of this draft with something So that’s why it’s so big I want to give a a plug real quick Obviously you know we’re going to have the best draft show in town Uh we’re going to be at the Cage It’s going to be uh the Cage is on Redwood Road It’s a batting cage so that’s really fun Um we’re going to be killing it with draft coverage all night long Our draft show will officially be hosted by Jake Scott Ben Anderson and Steve Cleveland A lot of other people are going to stop by Uh JJ Hans PK Scotty G That’s all round one Round two it’s going to be uh Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt killing the draft coverage So lot of guys working Wednesday night to bring you the best coverage possible And uh I’m excited because I think this Kevin Durant trade when it comes it’s going to set off a bunch of dominoes You could see other other moves get made possibly before Wednesday But I mean the draft is always fun So right you have the KD um rumblings What’s going to happen there earlier the earlier this week or maybe it was last week there was reports that the Spurs and the 76ers were shopping around their picks Yeah At two and three And so we’ll see what happens man But I do I’m kind of on the train and on the sentiment where there’s there’s moves to be made And so I’m curious to see what happens as we get closer and closer to to Wednesday night and even at even on Wednesday night Yeah Yeah During the draft don’t rule out trades getting made as well Uh again thanks to Matt Bad Babcock sorry for uh joining us there You can check him out at babcockhoops.com We got to take a break Coming up next we’ll hit five minutes of got a couple other things to talk about Of course the Lakers selling for a record 10 billion We’ll hit that next It’s the Saturday Show 975 the KSL Sports Zone Welcome back to the Saturday Show 975 the KSL Sports Zone It’s time for five minutes of lot to talk about Always a ton of sports news Not a ton of time left in our short little Saturday show Alex what should we start off with here well I think the big one is uh the Lakers man Largest price tag for any professional sports sale ever $10 billion Mark Walter acquires the Lakers from the Bus family 10 billion dollars Can you believe that 10 billion isn’t it insane amount of money Ryan Smith bought the Jazz for like two 2 something billion right the times have changed Now they do think that they do estimate that the the valuation has doubled since then right so you’re looking at maybe close to 5 billion if you’re lucky for the Jazz but obviously I mean the Lakers are one of the sports franchises in the world Yes Uh they are you can go anywhere and people are going to recognize that logo um because of all the legacy they’ve had A lot of championships all almost all almost all of the best players in NBA history have played for the Lakers at some point Uh they just they always seem to acquire star talents I do think it’s funny that this sale comes after they acquire Luca Donuch Uh there’s still a chance that he could end up leaving in free agency You never know uh he doesn’t have a ton of time left on his deal but seems like he’s the next face of that franchise So good time to capitalize uh for the Bus family Obviously you get 10 billion dollars is is a lot I I think you know as far as the new ownership coming in and you know there’s the big Luca Donic question that needs to be answered Um I think it would be silly of them not to do everything they can to try to keep him Yeah he is going to be your face of he is your face of the franchise now He is going to be the guy Obviously you know there’s still a question on whether or not LeBron returns whether or not LeBron continues to play And if LeBron decides that this is it I highly doubt it but if he decides that this is it then you have to do every single thing that you can to keep Luca Donic because he’s your guy now Yeah And that’s probably going to be one of the first as far as you know roster building goes That’s going to be one of the first big questions that we’re going to see from this new ownership While I think you know uh Genie Bus continues to kind of be the governor and operate the team which I think is weird You you sell your majority stake and then you continue to run the team But we’ll see if uh we’ll see how that dynamic ends up working out Well as LeBron as long as LeBron is there he’s going to run the team But you never know I mean I think I think they kind of showed with the Luca trade you know specifically trading Anthony Davis away I think that was the first sign like “Hey LeBron we’re taking power back.” And I think this is continuing that trend right um this guy also owns the Dodgers by the way uh one of the best teams in baseball especially after getting Otani and how big that is So seems like the the Lakers are going to have an opportunity to really spend as far as having the best facilities and the best training rooms and gyms and nutrition and all of that stuff that really gives you the edge over everybody else I don’t want to think about the Lakers becoming good again Um but it it there’s a chance that they might And of course you’ve got to ultimately you’ve got to make the right front office moves as far as putting players on the court But starting with Luca and then building from there that’s not a bad spot Absolutely not Um I think the the Lakers you know after the sale and they’re there already in a possession position to kind of succeed Yeah They just need to build on it right you already have you have your superstar you have uh LeBron James Um now it’s just kind of starting to plan the after what comes after LeBron Yeah And again a big part of that will be Luca Donuch but also you need to have like we’re seeing with the the NBA finals and with these teams you need to have depth You need to have a you need to have a team around your your best player And so it’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next 5 years with this Los Angeles Lakers team especially if they’re going to want to try to capitalize on another championship while you have Luca Donuch Yeah I agree there Uh let’s switch gears Talk Utah Mammoth preseason schedule came out Of course it’s preseason Um but I think the big note here so their first technical home preseason game is September 30th That game is going to be played in Boisee Idaho against the LA Kings But October or exc yeah October 2nd and 4th are their actual home preseason games The big takeaway the reason I want to bring that up Alex those are going to be the first events at the Delta Center after this summer’s renovations And we know that they’re going to continue to do renovations the next two years after this one Right so it’s not going to be a completely finished product but we are going to start seeing the the first changes and the first whatever they’re working on Um I know that there’s a plan and and all that and they’re going in phases We’re going to see that for the first time October 2nd And I think that’s worth noting Absolutely And you know I it’s always a good time going across the street and going to Delta Center whether it’s going to you know whether it’s watching a jazz game whether it’s watching the Mammoth now whether it’s going to a concert hanging out uh Delta Center is a fun venue And you know when they released the plans and when they they they kind of gave us an idea of what they what their vision was with the renovations uh it made me excited And so I’m excited to see again being able to return to Delta Center seeing what all this uh offseason construction across the street has done to to Delta Center and how they’re going to continue to improve it for both uh Utah Jazz fans and for Utah Mammoth fans Yeah And just to have hockey on the ice I know Just have hockey come back man Last year’s preseason was really fun Um it was they even did the like they did shootouts after all the games just for fun I thought that was pretty cool And you know honestly I think it’s a good idea for them to go to Boise start stealing some of those Boise fans start building a a fan base in Idaho right you want to grow this fan base You want to you want to create some momentum behind this team And so I think it’s a good thing for them to head out to to Boisey and and try to you know if there’s some LA Kings fans out there or if there’s some some Duck fans out there or whoever they support right go out make yourself known in in the Boisee market and try to steal some hockey fans over there Wrapping up this segment we got to mention real quick Uh University of Wisconsin is suing Miami for poaching This is a big one for tampering I hope it’s a big one I hope that this is I hope that this sets a trend Um long story short Wisconsin is alleging that Miami contacted Xavier Lucas He’s a I believe is he a defensive back yes Yeah Freshman Uh while he was under contract attending school at Wisconsin they are saying that Miami contacted him and got him to enter the transfer portal and go to Miami Uh so that’s big because obviously that was a story here locally There were allegations of a certain school doing that to another school So this could potentially set a precedent But at the same time like that would be ideal but I don’t think this is going to go anywhere If I’m hon if I’m being 100% honest with you I don’t I I don’t know how much this really changes simply because there are so many schools so many programs so many players so many agents It would just be way too hard to stay on top of all of that Yeah Uh the complaint was filed yesterday Friday uh where Wisconsin claims that Miami staff members and and prominent alumnists met with Lucas and his family before he was even in the transfer portal um and kind of enticed Lucas to to leave Wisconsin and and obviously make his way down there to Miami I think this one’s huge man because you there’s if it does go somewhere and you know it does go through the courts and ultimately there’s a winner and a loser I feel like that sets that it has the potential to set a very big precedence right whether as far as Yes As far as tampering as far as um poaching players goes if Wisconsin comes out and and and wins this lawsuit right we’re going to be setting we’re going to be setting the precedence of poaching and and tampering making it making it basically illegal But if if if Miami comes out on top then I think college athletics you thought it was the wild wild west Now just wait If uh Miami wins this it’s just going to get even worse I don’t know how much worse it can get I mean everybody I think everybody’s already doing it is the thing I think it can But yeah Yeah I’m with regardless either this is going to be like a really big move that really impacts the transfer portal or nothing is going to change at all So that’s and that’s why I think that this one’s so important because it has that potential to to really change things and and maybe potentially give us um some rules and some and some some laws in regards to the poaching But but we’ll see what comes out of it Um there is still that chance that the judges just toss the case and nothing comes out of it So or there’s a settlement or whatever Yeah So we’ll we’ll see But there’s potential there to find some stability I guess in in college football or in college athletics Um and I think that’s needed Yeah I think it’s very very much needed All right Uh let’s take a break Unfortunately the show is coming to an end for today We will wrap it up next It’s the Saturday Show 975 the KSL Sports Zone Uh welcome back It’s the Saturday Show 975 the KSL Sports Zone Putting another bow on it wrapping up today’s show Uh last week we talked about the Indiana Fever They got Caitlyn Clark back and they beat the New York Liberty Yes Handed the Liberty their first loss of the season Then we saw some fireworks some fights throughout the week And my hot take I don’t think it’s even that hot of a take I think this is great for the WNBA I think couldn’t agree more And you know a lot of what their marketing I guess you could say was built on last year was Angel Ree versus Caitlyn Clark And I think Caitlyn Clark has a as a player has ascended above that right yes Um because she’s a much better player than Ree And so you still had the issue of a lot of the WNBA players are jealous of her They do not like her They foul her a lot harder than she needs to be fouled So what do the Fever do they go out and get an enforcer to stand up for Caitlyn Clark when things go south And it’s exactly what we saw last week And I am here for every second of it Uh I don’t know the It’s the Phoenix Mercury right i believe is their name Uh the one the team that they fought against Yeah it was the Connecticut Sun Oh Connecticut Sun Okay So it was the Sun Yeah I don’t know their players names and I’m sorry but they were getting into it But then the one girl comes and just body checks Caitlyn Clark like trucks her sends her to the ground Yeah And Sophie Cunningham newly acquired member of the Fever she steps up She says “Hey don’t do that.” yada yada yada And then we saw later in the game hard foul and there’s a big fight as far as Cunningham She like grabbed the girl and threw her down on the ground And I think this it’s what they need And I know it’s kind of cheap It’s kind of I don’t want to say dirty but it’s like you need eyeballs and that’s how you get eyeballs I mean it was trending pro it was trending probably just as much honestly as as uh Tyrese Hallebertton um on Wednesday night Yeah When you know the news the news comes out that Hallebertton can play That’s a trending that’s a trending topic And then you see you pull up uh social media and I go into the search bar and the first thing that pops up over Tyrese was this WNBA scuffle between the Sun and the Fever Yeah it was awesome Um be I guess that’s what people want to see I’m more excited I’m more I’m more so excited about the you know last year like like you mentioned it Christian last year it was Caitlyn Clark versus Angel Ree but now it seems like it’s the fever and Caitlyn Clark versus everybody else because it seems like it’s happening night in and night out where someone’s trying to take a shot at Caitlyn Clark Yeah Um and that’s something that I’ve been kind of keeping my eye on when it comes to the WNBA Well and eventually you’re going to get to the point where the Fever are contenders and they’re still I don’t believe they’re still quite not there yet Right Um but they are rising and they’re a rising team and eventually Caitlyn Clark is going to be good enough to where she can carry that team to a championship and uh so yeah up until then I think she’s going to have to earn the respect of everybody and I think she deserves everybody else’s respect but for whatever reason they don’t like her and we’re seeing it every single night So I think it’s fun I think it’s good I don’t know if that was their kind of thought process of picking up Cunningham I don’t know if she had that reputation before of kind of being a scrapper but seeing her step up for Caitlyn Clark I really enjoyed that and I think that was it’s kind of heartwarming in a sense like Yeah because we didn’t see that last year We didn’t see any of her teammates like defend her You know you see in an NFL game the the quarterback gets hit after the whistle and all of the offensive linemen go and beat up the guy that breathes on the quarterback right that’s what the the fever needed for Caitlin Clark I I 100% agree Um shout out Sophie Cunningham for for giving us the viral clip of the week Yeah loved it I loved it as well Uh as far as what we’ve got on the station rest of the day Utah Royals are playing pre-match show at 2:30 and then uh kickoff against the Seattle Rain FC that is going to be at two Both signals because uh RSL is off for the rest of the month essentially Um and then we’ve got the Bees playing versus Sacramento later on today That game is at 7 So everything’s kind of spaced out here on the zone today Still a lot of action still a lot of action Um if you know want to give a quick shout out to uh Matt Babcock again for jumping on and joining us Uh if you missed that conversation earlier go download it go see it on YouTube Yeah Um lot of lot of good insight there from uh about the upcoming draft and then of course coming up Wednesday NBA draft show and Friday NHL draft show here on the KSL Sports Zone So there’s going to be a lot of action this week Christian I’m looking forward to it I know now that the I mean we’ve got game seven tomorrow and then that’s it and we’re really going to enter offseason mode and I think there are going to be a lot of big news stories the next couple weeks whether it’s Kevin Durant getting traded uh whatever the Utah Jazz end up doing we are going to know what’s happening here in Salt Lake City as far as rebuild or starting to contend it’s going to take shape so stay tuned uh thanks for listening catch you next week it’s the Saturday show 975 the KSL Sports Zone
HOUR 1 of the Saturday Show with Christian Esparza and Alex Napoles
• Pacers force the Thunder back to Oklahoma for a Finals game 7
• Florida Panthers repeat, is this the best NHL team in the last 25 years?
• Technical Fouls
HOUR 2
• Matt Babcock joins the guys to help navigate the draft prospects for the Utah Jazz
• 5 Minutes Of: LA Lakers sell; Utah Mammoth Preseason schedule release; Wisconsin lawsuit
• Caitlin Clark’s return sparks some fireworks +MORE